up!”
Daniel and I shook the pilot. The helicopter dropped a couple of feet and we stumbled. Corey ran over.
“Help me get him out!” he shouted to Daniel as he grabbed the front of the pilot’s jacket. “I can fly it.”
“Based on what?” Sam appeared at his side. “Video games?”
Corey scowled. “You got a better idea?”
“Yes.”
The boys pulled the pilot out of the way and dumped him in the narrow gap behind the front seats.
Sam slid into his spot, grabbed the throttle and the control stick, then planted her feet on both pedals. The helicopter stabilized and began to rise, but listed to one side.
“You have to get her level,” Corey said.
“No, really?”
He reached for the control stick. Sam swatted him aside.
“Do you know helicopters? Or just planes? Because they’re not the same.”
The helicopter leveled for a second, then started to spin.
“Sam doesn’t know what she’s doing,” Hayley said. “Stop her.”
“She’s keeping us in the air,” I said.
“Everyone else?” Daniel said. “Sit down and put on your belts. Now.”
Hayley and Nicole obeyed, but Corey hovered at the front, wedged between Sam and me.
I reached for the radio and put on the headset. It took some fiddling to get the radio going, but we had a shortwave at the park, so I had some idea how to operate it.
“SOS!” I said. “Helicopter out of Salmon Creek. Pilot unconscious. Repeat, helicopter pilot unconscious.”
I stopped transmitting and listened. Static.
“SOS!” I said. “Emergency situation. Helicopter over Vancouver Island. Pilot unconscious. Repeat, pilot unconscious !”
The helicopter dropped again.
Corey bent to look at the control panel. “You need to—”
“I’m working on it!” Sam snarled.
“Here, let me—”
I didn’t see what Corey did, but the helicopter pitched to the side, hard and sharp. Corey fell onto the mayor. Kenjii barked, claws scraping the floor as she slid onto the unconscious pilot.
Sam swore, her hands shaking as she reached for a lever. “Everyone sit down. Just sit down!”
The helicopter lurched again and Sam’s hand hit something. A crack and a rush of air. Nicole shrieked. This time, Hayley joined her.
“The door!” Corey said. “Holy hell. The door’s open!”
“Everyone hang on!” Daniel yelled. “Maya, grab Kenjii!”
I lunged for the dog’s collar and, just then, I heard a gasp. Everyone was yelling and wind rushed through the half-open door and I shouldn’t have heard anything. But I heard that gasp.
“Rafe!” I screamed.
As I turned, I saw a blur of motion. Rafe, his eyes opening as he sailed across the floor of the helicopter. Out the open door.
Copyright
HUNTING KAT . Text copyright © 2012 by KLA Fricke Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
EPub Edition © 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-212779-2
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (P.O. Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au/ebooks
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham
Daniel and I shook the pilot. The helicopter dropped a couple of feet and we stumbled. Corey ran over.
“Help me get him out!” he shouted to Daniel as he grabbed the front of the pilot’s jacket. “I can fly it.”
“Based on what?” Sam appeared at his side. “Video games?”
Corey scowled. “You got a better idea?”
“Yes.”
The boys pulled the pilot out of the way and dumped him in the narrow gap behind the front seats.
Sam slid into his spot, grabbed the throttle and the control stick, then planted her feet on both pedals. The helicopter stabilized and began to rise, but listed to one side.
“You have to get her level,” Corey said.
“No, really?”
He reached for the control stick. Sam swatted him aside.
“Do you know helicopters? Or just planes? Because they’re not the same.”
The helicopter leveled for a second, then started to spin.
“Sam doesn’t know what she’s doing,” Hayley said. “Stop her.”
“She’s keeping us in the air,” I said.
“Everyone else?” Daniel said. “Sit down and put on your belts. Now.”
Hayley and Nicole obeyed, but Corey hovered at the front, wedged between Sam and me.
I reached for the radio and put on the headset. It took some fiddling to get the radio going, but we had a shortwave at the park, so I had some idea how to operate it.
“SOS!” I said. “Helicopter out of Salmon Creek. Pilot unconscious. Repeat, helicopter pilot unconscious.”
I stopped transmitting and listened. Static.
“SOS!” I said. “Emergency situation. Helicopter over Vancouver Island. Pilot unconscious. Repeat, pilot unconscious !”
The helicopter dropped again.
Corey bent to look at the control panel. “You need to—”
“I’m working on it!” Sam snarled.
“Here, let me—”
I didn’t see what Corey did, but the helicopter pitched to the side, hard and sharp. Corey fell onto the mayor. Kenjii barked, claws scraping the floor as she slid onto the unconscious pilot.
Sam swore, her hands shaking as she reached for a lever. “Everyone sit down. Just sit down!”
The helicopter lurched again and Sam’s hand hit something. A crack and a rush of air. Nicole shrieked. This time, Hayley joined her.
“The door!” Corey said. “Holy hell. The door’s open!”
“Everyone hang on!” Daniel yelled. “Maya, grab Kenjii!”
I lunged for the dog’s collar and, just then, I heard a gasp. Everyone was yelling and wind rushed through the half-open door and I shouldn’t have heard anything. But I heard that gasp.
“Rafe!” I screamed.
As I turned, I saw a blur of motion. Rafe, his eyes opening as he sailed across the floor of the helicopter. Out the open door.
Copyright
HUNTING KAT . Text copyright © 2012 by KLA Fricke Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
EPub Edition © 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-212779-2
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (P.O. Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au/ebooks
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham
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